Portable alarm systems are now known in the marketplace. Exemplary portable alarm systems are manufactured and sold by Tattletale Portable Alarm Systems, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio. The following United States Patents describe representative portable alarm systems: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,587,701; 6,049,273; 6,831,557; 5,777,551; and 7,327,220, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Generally, these portable alarm systems include a portable base unit and at least one remote sensor, which is configured to communicate wirelessly with the portable base unit. The sensor may be conventional wireless window/door sensors, motion sensors, glass breakage sensors and the like. The base unit includes a microprocessor, a receiver configured to receive wireless signals from the wireless sensor 14 and a wireless transceiver configured to communicate over known wireless networks, such as 3G and 4G LTE networks. The portable base unit may also include an integrated motion sensor and a rechargeable battery. In operation, when the sensor detects a trigger event (e.g., window opening, door opening, glass breakage, motion), the wireless sensor emits a wireless signal, which is received by a receiver in the base unit. The receiver converts the wireless signal to an electrical signal, which is communicated to the microprocessor. The microprocessor may then cause the transceiver to initiate a wireless communication to a remote location, e.g., a monitoring station or a designated telephone number, or to initiate other types of communications, such as a text message or alert to a smart phone or other mobile electronic device.
The inventors hereof have developed improvements to the functionality and usefulness of this existing portable alarm system.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.